Window-shelf for plants.



No. 788,622. PATENTED FEB. 28, 1905. G. W. CURTIS.

:a w ii i} [EX/755355. J27 1/5/7/17/1 6.0 7 iFZ/ QM raw/W6 in crease inSTTs Patented February 28, 1905,,

aren't iililmi WliNDOW-"Sl-HELF POW PLAltl'll$-.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,622, dated February28, 1905.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that .l, GEORGE W. CURTIS, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Britain, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful improvements inWindow-Shelves for Plants, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in wiiulow-shelves for plants; andthe objects of my improvement are simplicity and economy in constructionand convenience and ellicieney in use and in particular to adapt theshelves for use on wide or narrow windows, as oceasion may require.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of myshelves as applied to a window. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the samewith small portions broken out to show other parts. Fig. 3 is anenlarged detail section of a portion of my shell? on the line a' m ofFig. 2. Fig. l is a transverse section of one oi the trays on a largerscale. Fig. 5 is a central vertical section, partly in elevation, of thelower rear corner of one of the brackets on the same scale as Fig. 3.Fig. 6 is a transverse section on the line 51 1 Fig. 3, of one of theoxtensile skeleton shelves, part oi the end piece oi the said sheli'being broken away.

My shelves are supported mainly on two bracket-frames, which frames arepreferably formed 01 tubing 7, cross-rods 8, and cornerpioees S), thetubing 7 being bent into the desired l'orm until its ends nearlymeet andthen connected together by cxtei'lding the said ends into the sockets oithe cori'ier-piece 9, to which the said ends may be secured in anyproper manner as, for example, by pins 10, as shown in Figs. 2 and The crnerieces are ot a right-angular iiorm at their back and bottom,

bottom oi? said corner-piece with rubber, as indicated at Fig. 5. Nearthe top and bottom of the frames Ill place the cross-rods for the endpieces of the skeleton shelves to rest on. I soshape the frame that whenthe crossrods 8 are horizontal the frame will extend obliquely upwardand outward, and it should have obliquity enough to bring the rear endof the upper cross-rod in substantially the vertical plane oi the frontend oi the lower cross-rod, so that no part oi the upper shell will bedirectly over any part oi the lower shell. l provide the rear edge oithe frame with an eye 15, from which a chain It) or equivalent fasteningmay beextended to a screw-eye or fastening- 13 on the windoweasing 12,as shown in Fig. 2.

Each shell is composed of four extensile bars and two end pieces 17,each end piece being' provided with a rollcd over upper edge 18 to hookupon the shell eross-rods 8 ol the frame. The extensile bars are formedeach oi a hollow and flattened tube iii and a llat strip of metal 20,titted to and sliding within the said flattened tube. The said stripshave one end bent at a right angle to their bodies and are secured byrivets to one of the end pieces 1'7, the right-hand end piece, as shownIn Fig. 1. Short piecesil of like strips olimetal are bent into theright-angular form and have one member thereoi riveted to the other endpiece, the upper lelt-haud cud pieceasshowu in Fig. 6, while the othermember oi these angular pieces extrmds into the ends oi the ilaie tonedhollow tubes 19, which are riveted thoreto, as shown in Fig. 3. Thestrips 20 and tubes ll) should be nearly oi equal length; but inas muchas a short portion of the tubes at the ends nearest the end piece islillcd up by thev fastening angle-piece 21 the metal strips may be thatmuch shorter than the tubes. 'lhe strips and tubes are riveted to theend pieces so as to stand up edgewise thnt is, with their broad sides inthe vertical position--aml they are secured to the said end pieces quitea distance from the rolled-over suspension upper edge 18 of the said endpieces 17, as best shown in Fig. 6. l akin,u' an end piece with thestrips secured thereto and another end piece with the tubes securedthereto and inserting the ends of the strips into the tubes, anextension skeleton shelf is formed, which may be shortened until thestrips strike bottom in the tubes and may be lengthened by drawing outthe strips until only a suflicient portion is double 1 to support theshelf, whereby the shelf may be extended or contracted in length for ad-1 usting it to windows of any width within its range. hen the two framesare properly placed on the window, as described, the shelf may beadjusted lengthwise to the proper distance between the said frames andthen suspended therefrom by hooking the rolled upper edge over thecross-rods, the bars of the shelf and the lower part of the end piecescoming down below the cross-rods, with their ends i bearing on thetubing 7 at the inside of the l frame, as shown. The other shelf isadjusted and applied in the same way. It is only nec- 3 essary to laysomething on the top of the skeleton shelves for a surface to render theshelves ready for use. 1 prefer to employ for this purpose the extensiletrays, which are formed of two half-pans that is, pans that are open atone end the same as if out transversely to remove one end. These pans 22and 23 have sides and one end with rolled upper edges 24, l the rollededge of one pan beingalittle smaller than the other, so as to slidetherein. The

part or pan 22 with the smaller roll is a little the larger as to itsbody part, so that while 1 the roll of the pan 22 slides within the rollof 1 the pan 23 the body of the pan 23 slides within 3 the body of thepan 22, as shown best by the 1 front view Fig. 1. These two pans may beof l substantially the same length and may be contracted to. nearly thelength of only one part or extended to nearly twice that length, so thatthey may be adjusted to the length of the adjusted shelves and placedthereon to receive the plants. As soon as the shelves are loaded withplants they will be found lirm enough for all practical purposes, eventhough the lower ends of the frame merely rest on the top of thewindow-stool, as shown, and no fastening is employed except the chainand eyes at the upper end of the frames.

1 claim as my invention- 1. The combination of the two separate frameshaving shelf-supports and adapted to be secured in place on the oppositesides of a window, with a plurality of extensile shelves adapted to beadjusted to the space between the said frames, and the extensile traysfor resting upon the said shelves, substantially as described.

2. An extensile skeleton shelf consisting of flattened tubes and stripsarranged to slide one within the other and secured to the end pieces forhanging the said shelvesxsubstam f tially as described.

GEORGE W. CURTIS.

Vitnesses:

JAMES SHEPARD, SHEFFIELD H. CLARKE.

